


forget all the ways that we're broken

by Ravens_World



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27608792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravens_World/pseuds/Ravens_World
Summary: Five times Maria gets a vision of Michael leaving the planet, and the one time he stayed.
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 32
Kudos: 165





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, Malex fandom! ❤
> 
> This work was promoted to me on tumblr and I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> There are very little mentions of Miluca and Forlex, and though I hate both those ships, I like Maria and I don't hate Forrest, so I hope I've remained respectful of both these characters and ships. 
> 
> Happy reading!

I.  
When she heard the door to the airstream open, Maria finally opened her eyes sat up in the tiny bed. 

Her heart pounded in her chest and she let her head fall into her hands. She clutched her hair and shook her head as tears gathered in her eyes. What had she done? What the _hell_ had she been thinking last night? Did Alex hate her now? Did _Michael_ hate her now? He had gone after Alex, after all.

Maria knew it had been a mistake, now that the adrenalin had worn off. But the vision she'd gotten last night on the ride over had taken her off guard, had sent her into a panic and she hadn't even been able to think much past the fact that she might lose not only Alex, but Michael too.

The vision, though not very clear and choppy at best had shown her one thing; Michael telling her he was leaving the planet because he had nothing left. She'd retorted back that he had her and his answer had been simple yet telling.

_"I can't stay here and watch him be with someone else. I won't."_

So, she'd taken a wild guess as to who the him was, and-

"I used to really think you and I would end up together," Alex said quietly, though it was loud enough for Maria to hear. That was like a stab to the heart. 

"I used to, too," was Michael's answer. 

And Maria had to wonder if he really meant to say it in the past tense.

Things were quiet then, and for a heart stopping moment, she thought he'd followed him. But then the door opened and she hastily wiped her eyes. "You're not gonna follow him?" She asked, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"Ah, I am not going anywhere," he smiled, leaning in close.

"Well, neither am I."

She smiled, and he smiled back, then leaned in to kiss her. For a few, blissful seconds, it was heaven. But then-

_Maria was crying. She was wearing a pretty silver dress, her hair was styled beautifully and she was crying silently. There was the sound of lively music, muffled by the closed door she was leaning against. Another door opened, and the sound of heels was getting closer and closer. "Maria! What are you doing out here, you're missing all the fun." She could practically hear the grin in Liz's words._

_Liz was wearing a beautiful emerald dress and her hair was styled to perfection. Her smile lit up her face and when she looked down, she noticed a simple, yet elegant, engagement ring. "Liz," Maria whimpered, and the smile fell off Liz's face._

_"What happened?"_

_"He's gone," she cried. Liz's arms wrapped around her._

_"Who's gone?" She asked gently, voice quiet._

_"Michael."_

_Liz froze, and then her eyes teared up and she steered Maria inside, ignoring Maria's protests._

_Maria stopped dead in her tracks once she was inside the spacious ball room._

_Liz let her stand there for a few seconds before she put her arm on Maria's elbow. "We have to tell everyone. Maybe we can get him back."_

_She shook her head. "He said there was no place for him here anymore. I tried, Liz. I tried so hard," she cried._

_Her friend drew her into her arms yet again and hugged her tight. "I know you did, Maria. It wasn't your fault."_

_"It was. I shouldn't have kept them apart. I should have walked away a long time ago."_

_Liz shook her head. "No, you-"_

_"Hey, you guys!"_

_They whirled around and came face to face with Alex and Forrest, both of them looking handsome in nearly identical suits, holding hands and beaming._

_Her eyes were drawn to their hands, and she noticed the two thin bands on their ring fingers._

_So this must have been their wedding._

_With a sinking feeling in her gut, she realized Michael leaving and Alex getting married couldn't be a coincidence._

_Alex's smile fell off his face when he took a good look at Maria and then, when he seemed to get it, a deeply hurt, heartwrenching expression twisted his features and he let out a whoosh of air, as if he'd just been punched._

_"He's gone, isn't he?"_

_Maria could do nothing but nod._

_The last thing she saw before she was back in Michael's airstream was Alex's eyes filling with tears._

"Hey, what's wrong?" Michael asked, a concerned frown taking over his face. "Where'd you go?"

"Nowhere," she answered, trying to smile. "I'm right here."

She let him kiss her. Let him lay her down on the bed, and all the while, she tried to ignore the glimpse she'd had into their future.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy reading!

II.  
For the next couple of weeks, Maria tried to ignore what she'd seen in her visions. And when that didn't work, she started to convince herself that she could change their future.

The first thing she decided was that she was never taking off the bracelet Michael made her. 

Then she looked at all she had been doing wrong and tried to be better. Maria did her best to be attentive to him, surprised him with dates, with dinners. She'd even arranged a time for him to meet her mother. 

Michael seemed eager to follow her lead, and at first, she liked it. She liked that he dotted on her, she liked that he took care of her. She liked it so much, in fact, that she never noticed how on the inside of Michael Guerin, there was a storm brewing.

Alex had, in a subtle and roundabout way, tried to warn her by dropping hints, but she'd been riding on a high she hadn't been ready to get rid of yet, so she had ignored him, until it was too late. 

On the night before he was supposed to meet her mom, he called to cancel. He sounded off, voice tight and clipped and, though it was the wrong move to make, she'd gotten angry. The call had ended with both of them yelling and Maria in tears. 

For three days, she avoided Michael entirely, and he didn't try to reach out, either. She attempted to do the same with Alex, but was unable to. Because he was a good friend, and he was trying way too hard to put on a brave face and convince her that he was fine with her relationship with Michael. When he found her alone in the bar, with a nearly empty bottle of whiskey in her hand, he sat her down and got everything out of her. Being the good friend he was, he refrained from saying I told you so out loud, though his eyes did the talking, and offered to help. Selfishly, Maria accepted. 

"He's off," she explained to him, sipping from the bottle. "He's either distant or trying too hard. Angry or almost emotionless. Being with him is like a roller coaster right now and I don't know what to do."

He swallowed thickly. "Don't put too much pressure on him," he told her quietly, his head resting on his fist and his eyes not meeting hers. "Let him come to you. He wants everything you're offering him, just not all at once, you know?"

By the time they were done talking, Maria felt her hope for her relationship with Michael blossom yet again. 

That was, though, until Alex squeezed her hand as he was leaving, and she realized, belatedly, that she hadn't worn her bracelet after her shower.

Maria gasped and was transported to somewhere else.

* * *

_It was dark, and from the looks of Alex, who was shivering despite all the layers he was wearing, it was very cold. He looked up at the sky and Maria noticed the tears streaming down his face._

_"You're a piece of work, Michael Guerin, you know that?" He laughed and shook his head. "I can't believe you actually did it. You couldn't have talked to me? Actually talked to me? You couldn't have told me you were leaving because of me?"_

_"You goddamn idiot, I have loved you for what feels like my entire life, and I- I was never enough. I thought I was never enough, and then you send me this," he waived around a piece of paper he'd clutched in his hands, "and I find out from a fucking letter that I was? That you left this fucking planet thinking I didn't love you. The one thing that hasn't changed in all my years of knowing you, was the fact that I love you. You're the love of life, Michael Guerin, and I'll never forgive you for leaving without saying goodbye."_

_He clutched the letter to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut. "Come back. Please, please, come back-"_

_"Alex? Hey, are you okay?"_

_Alex turned around and found Liz, wearing an emerald dress -the same one she'd been wearing in Maria's first vision- underneath a thick, too big black coat that Maria guessed was Max's._

_"No, I'm not," he told her miserably._

_He laughed abruptly, but Liz didn't seem phased by this. She came to stand beside him and she lifted her face up to the sky too, mirroring him. "He's really gone, huh?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"I'm really sorry you're going through this, Alex. I wish I could make it better."_

_He shook his head. "He didn't even say goodbye, Liz" He muttered. He'd stopped crying at this point, but his voice was thick and nasally. Liz seemed to pick up on it, because she turned him towards her and hugged him tight. She was significantly shorter than him, but that didn't matter when Alex all but collapsed into her arms, shoulders shaking and shuddering as he tried in vain to stop himself from completely breaking down._

* * *

When the vision was over, she stumbled her way upstairs and lay down for a handful of minutes, trying to block out how miserable Alex had seemed (and how in love).

When she could drag herself up, the first thing she did was put the bracelet back on. Then, she wrote every single thing she remembered from the vision in the notebook she'd been writing about her visions in.

1\. Alex still marries Forrest.  
2\. Michael still leaves.  
3\. Circumstances change, Alex didn't find out from her, but from a letter Michael had written him.

The slight changes nagged at her, but she had absolutely nothing else to go on. She closed the notebook and slid it into its hiding space, then leaned back until she lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling of her room, the image of Alex's sorrow never leaving her.

She didn't sleep for a very long time after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought 💜


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Reading!!

III

  
"Michael? Is everything okay?" 

He sniffled and tried, though not very well, to stumble his way past her.

She blocked his way and put both her hands on his chest, then took a few seconds to look at him.

He looked awful. His face was bloodied, he had bags under his eyes, and though he was trying to hide it, they were filled with tears. 

She was so shocked she nearly took a step back. "Hey, what's going on?"

He tried to dislodge her hands, but she didn't budge. "Nothing," he lied. 

"Michael," she scolded him, "this isn't nothing. Who did this to you?"

He huffed. "I just got into a fight, okay?" 

"Why?"

"Just leave it alone, Maria."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong," she told him stubbornly.

"Leave. Me. _Alone_."

He pushed past her, but she followed after him, though she made sure to stay behind several paces. He stopped abruptly a few feet away from his airstream and so did she. 

The tension in his muscles seemed to slip away little by little and when he moved forward, she knew why.

"Alex," he whispered tiredly and, to her surprise, with some hostility. 

Alex seemed to pay that no mind and moved closer to him. He raised his hand as if to touch the bruises littering Michael's face, but thought better of it and lowered his hand. "What do you need?"

"I thought this was what I needed," Michael answered, pointing at his face. "It didn't help."

Alex's hands were clenched, and so was his jaw, and she wondered why that was. Did he not want to be here? Was he uncomfortable with Michael's vulnerability? 

Michael stumbled a little, and Alex unthinkingly steadied him. In a move that surprised her, and Alex, if the widened eyes were an indication, Michael threw himself into his arms. 

Alex didn't waste any time and immediately pulled him in. Michael's face was buried in Alex's neck, his arms were clutching at his sides and it only took a second for him to start crying. Loud, hoarse and absolutely heartwrenching sobs tore out of his throat and Maria was forced to do nothing but watch as her boyfriend fell apart.

Alex's face was twisted in a pained expression; his lips were trembling, and his eyes were squeezed shut. Michael moved, as if he wanted to be even closer to him and Alex seemed to tighten his arms around the other man. 

"It's my fault," Michael cried. "God, if I'd waited, she could still be here."

"No," Alex told him firmly, and he peeled Michael away from him to hold his face in both his hands. "Listen to me, it wasn't on you. How could you have known, huh? It wasn't your fault, I promise you. It wasn't your fault."

Michael sniffled, then wiped his eyes with the heels of his hands and looked at Alex. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to check up on you. Knew today would be hard, and I didn't want you to be alone."

Michael laughed, it was cold, and the sudden change in demeanor gave Maria whiplash. He shook his head. "Not the first time I've gone through hard days alone, Alex, doubt it'll be the last. You can go now."

Her mouth fell open, and they spent a few seconds just staring at each other. Alex scoffed and shook his head. She watched Michael watch him leave, and wondered why he'd pushed him away.

She made to leave, but then changed her mind. Michael was her boyfriend; if he was upset, she needed to at least try to be there for him. Not that she had a clue on how she could be there for him.

Michael was her boyfriend. Yet he hadn't come to her for comfor, had pushed her away, but on the other hand, he had allowed Alex to hold him, to _comfort_ him.

She took a deep breath, then straightened up and determinately made her way into his airstream. 

Maria crouched down in front of the bed where Michael lay sprawled out and only hesitated a second before she reached out and ran her hand through his hair. 

  
_"Alex?"_

_"Michael," Alex sighed in relief. "Hey, Iz's gonna be okay," Alex informed him gently. His eyes took Michael in, from the messy hair, to the bloody knuckles and he sighed._

_Alex grabbed a washcloth and then, with some difficulty, maneuvered himself into a sitting position opposite Michael. He held out his hand for Michael's, and Michael laid his bleeding hand in Alex's without a word._

_He was crying quietly, but Alex just focused on his hand. "She's tough, so she's gonna pull through."_

_"I'm so goddamn tired of losing people, Alex," Michael whispered miserably._

_Alex shook his head. "You won't lose her."_

_"You can't know that."_

_"Isobel has Kyle looking after her, okay? She's gonna make it. You won't lose anyone."_

_"I lost you, didn't I?"_

_Alex's hand stilled and he looked up at Michael. "You didn't lose me."_

_Michael laughed quietly, a small broken thing. "You're marrying him, Alex."_

_Alex sighed. "Yeah, I am. That doesn't mean you'll lose me, though."_

_They were close. Too close. Michael leaned in, and though Alex didn't do the same, he didn't lean away either. The kiss was chaste, and their lips were the only points of contact. Michael struggled to move closer and that was when Alex put an end to it. He didn't move far, though. His forehead rested on Michael's and the pained look on his face was a mirror image of the one on Michael's._

_"I'm gonna pretend this didn't happen. And you're never going to kiss me again," he told him in a gentle but firm tone._

_At Michael's stunned look, Alex leaned back and shook his head. "You're hurting."_

_Michael closed his eyes._

_"You either wanted to push me away or-" he cut himself off and ran an anxious hand into his hair. "God, Michael, why did you have to complicate this? We were doing so well."_

_He scoffed. "No, we weren't. You- I'm going to have to watch you marry somebody else, Alex."_

_"You don't want to talk about this with me, Michael." Alex informed him in a dangerously calm voice._

_"Oh, but I do."_

_"I came to you, and I poured my heart out to you, years ago. I told you I was ready to try again and you went and kissed Maria. You were with her for a year. A whole year, and I had to keep my mouth shut because that's what a best friend is supposed to do. I sang a song that I wrote for you, about you, and you didn't even stick around to hear all of it. And after that? You break up with Maria and immediately start sleeping with anything that moves. How was I, during all of this, supposed to know that you want to be with me? What was supposed to give me a hint that you still had feelings for me?"_

_By the end of his long winded rant, Alex was breathing hard and his fists were clenched by his side._

_"Is there a chance for us, Alex?"_

_He opened his mouth, closed it, then shook his head._

_"Say it. Tell me there's no hope for us and you'll never have to see me again."_

_"Michael-"_

Maria stumbled back and barely caught herself before she fell on her ass. Her hand flew to her mouth and she quickly but quietly left the airstream, her heart beating a mile a minute. 

She was going to be sick.

She didn't know how, but she managed to make it to her truck, and she somehow managed to drive herself home. All the while, the latest vision was playing in her mind's eye like a broken record.

It was time to tell both Michael and Alex the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would love to know what you thought of this ❤


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy reading!!

Maria didn't tell Alex. 

She didn't tell Michael, either.

She'd come so close to letting it all out, so many times in the past week, but she always found some half truth or an outright lie to stop herself from doing it. Maybe Alex can be happy with Forrest, she told herself while trying to forget the devastation that had been pouring out of him in both her previous visions. Maybe I can be enough for Michael, she tried to convince herself and ignored the fact that he had left the planet because he thought Alex didn't want to be with him anymore.

Maria didn't know what was even stopping her at this point, other than sheer stubbornness. She avoided both Michael and Alex, barely even answered their calls, but still, she held onto Michael, tightly, and stubbornly refused to let him go. She just buried her head in the sand and carried on pretending. 

Until she couldn't anymore.

She'd given herself a week, to regroup and figure out what to do with the mess she'd gotten herself into, and six days into that week, Alex called to tell her he was coming by the pony before opening.

Thirty minutes before he was supposed to be there, Cindy, the new girl she'd hired to help out, poked her head in from the storage room and told her there were two men arguing in the parking lot. Maria sighed, readying herself to break up some idiot's fights and was surprised to find Michael and Alex in a heated argument. They didn't see her, so she stepped away. She was going to go back inside, if not for the mention of Forrest's name. For the second time, she found herself watching them.

"-can't just throw a tantrum when you don't like something, Guerin!"

"Oh, for fu- this isn't a tantrum, Alex. I just don't trust the guy!"

"You're- I am not asking you to trust him, I'm asking you to-" Alex spluttered and then turned around, hand sliding through his hair. "You know what? I'm not doing this anymore. Just- stay out of my relationship, okay? You moved on, I'm allowed to do the same."

Alex was breathing heavily at this point, and they were just standing there staring at each other. When Michael's response didn't come,he turned on his heel. He whipped out his phone and spoke into it as he moved further away from Michael and she watched with a sinking feeling as Michael stormed off.

Maria went back in, and was in a haze until someone tapped the bar and loudly called her name.

"Earth to Maria! Hey, what's going on?"  
  
"Alex!" Then she noticed Forrest was beside him. "Hi," she said with a beaming smile, trying to act as normal as possible, moving from behind the bar to greet them. It seemed to be working as the smiles she received seemed genuine enough. Forrest appeared to be holding onto Alex's hand tightly. Too tightly, maybe, considering the uncomfortable look on Alex's face. "You must be Forrest!" 

Still holding onto Alex's hand, Forrest extended his free hand and Maria took it.

Which was a mistake.

She sucked in a breath when she saw that she'd been transported right in the middle of an argument between Alex and Forrest.

_"I'm just so sick of it, Alex."_

_Alex ran a hand through his hair, and laughed incredulously. "He's my friend."_

_"He's more than that and you know it."_

_"He's not. I'm not cheating on you, I'm not having second thoughts. We've already talked about this." Alex clenched his jaw. "I told you. I told you that he was and always will be a big part of my life. And you said you were okay with it."_

_"I was okay with him being your friend. I wasn't okay with finding you two cuddled up with each other on our couch, in your cabin."_

_Alex's eyes turned cold. "I don't like what you're implying. I'm only going to say this one last time, he was drunk and hurting, I wasn't going to turn him away. I'd do it for any one of my friends."_

_"And I'd be okay with it."_

_"Just not if it's Michael."_

_"No," Forrest exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "Not of it's Michael."_

_"And why is that?"_

_Forrest laughed. "Because you're not in love with any of your friends, that's why."_

_"I won't abandon him, Forrest," Alex informed him coolly, no room for argument._

_"I'm not asking you to. Just- why won't you set some boundaries? Why couldn't you just put him on the couch, cover him and call it a day?"_

_"Because he needed me."_

_Forrest scoffed. "Of course. And Michael always comes first, right?"_

_"That's not fair."_

_"No, what's not fair is me not knowing if I'm my fiancee's priority or not. What's not fair, is me believing that I'll always come second to him."_

_"I have never chosen him over you."_

_"You never had to!" Forrest exploded._

_Forrest collapsed into a chair, and Alex took a seat next to him. He held his hand in his. "The fact that we're having this conversation," he started quietly, "means we've got something bigger than Michael to worry about."_

_"And what's that?"_

_"You don't trust me."_

_Forrest shook his head. "I know you'll never cheat on me. I know you're too good of a person to do that." He gently took his hand out of Alex's and stood up. "What I don't trust is your feelings for me." He shook his head with a self-deprecating smile. "You know, I never really thought you and I would make it this far? I kept waiting for you to break up with me. I told myself to end it, before someone got hurt, but I- I fell for you. And I kept putting it off, and then I found myself asking you to marry me and-"_

_"Do you regret it?" Alex sounded small, hesitant._

_"I can never regret you, Alex."_

_"Don't leave, okay? Stay and we'll talk about it."_

_"I think maybe some distance will help," Forrest started. He leaned in and placed a kiss on Alex's head. Alex closed his eyes. "I'm gonna go home for a couple of days, I need to not be here for a while. We'll talk when I get back."_

_With that, he left. Alex didn't try to stop him again._

_"I'm sorry." Michael sat up, and the blanket fell tot he floor. His eyes were red-rimmed and he looked miserable. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble."_

_"You didn't. I should've told him I was here with you instead of letting him get blindsided."_

_"Why didn't you?"_

_"You-" he hesitated, then shrugged. He looked sad, or maybe resigned, and slumped down in the chair. "I don't know. I saw you like that, and nothing else-" he stuttered to a stop. Mattered, he had been about to say mattered._

_Michael opened his mouth to say something, but closed it. Seconds later, he tried again. "Why are you marrying him?"_

_"Michael-"_

_"Just answer, will you?!"_

_"I don't know!"_

_Michael reeled back, seemingly surprised that he got an answer._

_"I don't know anymore, okay?"_

_"Tell me to stay."_

_Alex shook his head. "Michael-"_

_"Ask me to stay and I swear I will this time."_

_"I can't," his voice broke and he got up and turned his back to Michael._

_"Alex-"_

She surfaced with a gasp, and was met with two looks of concern coupled with confusion (Forrest) and curiosity (Alex).

Her heart pounding like a drum against her chest, she chocked out an excuse me and hurried into the bathroom. She flicked open the faucet and wet her hands, then rested them on her flushed cheeks. She looked at herself in the mirror, long and hard.

This wasn't her. She wasn't the type of person to do something that hurt someone she cared about deliberately. 

She was hurting both Alex and Michael and for what? He wasn't ever going to love her like he loves Alex. And even if there was a possibility, she shouldn't even think about taking it. Staying true to herself should always come first, and she had been acting against her nature for long enough. 

She cleaned up, put on a smile on her face and left the bathroom. 

No more excuses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think so far! Please? Pretty pretty please???


	5. Chapter 5

V.

Maria and Alex

"You've been writing in that a lot, lately."

Maria jumped and hastily closed the notebook, then looked back at Alex who was staring at her with his eyebrows raised. "Alex! Hi," she exclaimed, doing her best to sound normal.

Alex took a seat and looked at her pointedly. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I am! What are you doing here?"

Alex shrugged. "I've got a date with Forrest in half an hour, and since I have some free time I thought we might hang out." Alex was looking at her like he was trying to read her mind, and Maria had to resist the urge to look away from her friend's piercing gaze. "That's the notebook you write your visions in, isn't it?" He asked her quietly.

Her mouth hung open, and he smirked at her reaction. She swatted at him with the washcloth she used to wipe down the bar. 

"It is, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Maria found herself answering honestly. And surprisingly, it felt like some of the weight had been lifted off her shoulders. 

"You've been getting more visions lately, right? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she assured him, and smiled when he let out a relieved breath. "They've been longer. More vivid, too." 

"Do you know why?"

"No."

"Have you talked to anyone about it?

"No."

He blinked in surprise. "Why not? You know Iz, Michael, hell, even Max would help if you asked them to."

She nodded. "Yeah, I know. There's just so much going on and I don't want to add to it."

"Maria-"

"Alex, please, just- let's not talk about this, okay?"

"Alright. But if you change your mind, I'm here," he promised her quietly.

Tears sprang to her eyes as he smiled at her; kind and genuine. An image of him crying quietly as he stared up at the sky, on his wedding day, sprang into her mind and she squeezed her eyes shut. 

"Maria?" When she felt a hand cover hers, she exhaled roughly and opened her eyes to look into Alex's concerned ones.

"Do you still have feelings for Michael?"

He snatched his hand as if it was burned and watched her, his head cocked to one side. His gaze was piercing, and guarded. "Why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "I'm curious."

He raised an eyebrow. "Where was this curiosity a few months ago?" He asked sarcastically, tone colder than ice. 

She winced and though he seemed apologetic, he stayed quiet. "You never said you still had feelings for him. Hell, you only told me about him after he and I had sex," she snapped.

He nodded. "True. That was on me, but you knew, didn't you, Maria?" He shook his head. "God, why are we even talking about this?"

"Maybe we need to," she told him quietly, fidgeting with her fingers. 

Alex shook his head and looked to the side. "Do we? It's not gonna change anything."

"Maybe it can." When he finally looked back at her, there was a resigned look in his eyes. "Alex, this is long overdue, I know that, but I need you to answer me honestly; do you have feelings for Michael?"

"Maria, please..."

She smiled sadly. "It's okay."

"I'm with Forrest," he told her desperately. 

"Do you still have feelings for Michael?" She repeated the question. 

His shoulders slumped in defeat. "Yes, I do."

The words themselves, oddly enough, weren't what convinced her. It was the way he said them, steadily and with conviction. Alex seemed relieved, lighter even, and this more than anything else, made her regret not ending things with Michael sooner. 

"Maria?"

"Michael's gonna leave," she blurted out, surprising even herself. 

Alex froze. Maria was sure he'd even stopped breathing. "What?"

"Michael's leaving," she repeated. "The planet."

He swallowed thickly, then cleared his throat. He tried to put on an indifferent facade, but she could see right through it. "When?"

"I don't know."

" _Why_?"

 _Because you're getting married_ , she thought but didn't say. "I don't know."

He clenched his jaw and looked away. "Then what did he tell you?"

Maria shook her head. "He didn't tell me a thing." 

"Then how do you-"

"I saw it, in more than one vision. They're getting longer, more vivid and- they're mostly triggered by touch."

"That's why you've been avoiding practically everybody?"

She exhaled. "Yeah."

"Maria-" she looked at him and was glad that there was no pity in his expression, only sympathy. "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"About Michael?"

He gave her a deadpan look. "About your visions."

"Because I was being selfish. Because asking for help meant admitting to myself that he and I won't make it."

Saying it out loud made her feel a bit better, and she nearly cried when again, there was nothing but sympathy on his face. "I get it."

"You do?"

"Look, I'm not gonna say it didn't hurt, you being with the guy I love, but I wasn't entirely blameless. And neither was Michael."

She sniffled and nodded. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

"About what?"

She rolled her eyes. "Michael leaving." 

"What _can_ I do about it?"

"Talk him out of it!"

He shook his head. "Look, I put my cards on the table, okay? I told him I wanted to give us a try, he went running to you. I tried my damn best to help with anything I could, he fought me at every turn. I don't know why you would think I could talk him out of leaving."

"Because he loves you."

He shook his head. "If that is true, then that means it wasn't enough. I was never enough."

Maria closed her eyes. "Alex, come on-"

"Maria, please, just- he won't stay for me. And I'm not in the habit of asking someone to stay when they want to leave."

"But, he loves you," she protested weakly.

"And I love him. I have since I was seventeen. But it's never changed anything before, I doubt it will now." 

She touched his hand, just to offer some comfort and ended up in his cabin.

" _You think we can ever be friends, Alex?"_

_Alex snorted. "I used to. Now, though? I know we can't. I can't be just your friend, Guerin. I'm not wired that way. And neither are you."_

_Michael sighed and rested his head back on the back of the chair. "You're really leaving?"_

_Alex hummed. "The job offer is incredible. And Forrest has a house close by that we can live in."_

_Michael made a wounded noise._

_Alex sighed. "It's not the end of the world, Michael."_

_"Feels like the end of mine," he slurred. Alex either didn't hear the words or ignored them. "You ever regret what happened between us?"_

_"Do you?"_

_"Will you please just answer?"_

_"I don't let myself think about it. You made your choice, I made mine and- I just don't think about it."_

_"Why not?!" Michael exclaimed, frustrated._

_"Because I have Forrest! And it's not fair for me to think about us when I'm with him."_

_"Do you even love him?"_

_"He loves me."_

_"That's not an answer."_

_"It doesn't matter, Michael."_

_"Of course it matters!"_

_"No!" Alex pushed to his feet and walked away from Michael, only to stop a few feet away and rub a hand down his face. "You don't- you don't get to demand answers, Michael. Not anymore."_

_"Alex," he called out. "I-" he stopped short, then gathered the courage to continue. "I fixed the ship."_

_Alex turned around slowly. "What?"_

_"I'm leaving. The planet."_

_Alex reeled back as if he was struck. "You're drunk."_

_Michael shook his head. "If you marry him, then- I've got nothing left."_

_"You have Max, Isobel, Maria Liz- hell, you'll always have me."_

_"As a friend," he told him bitterly._

_"Yes," Alex told him firmly. "Let that be enough."_

_"And if it's not?"_

_"I don't want to lose you, Michael."_

_"Then tell me to stay. Tell me_ you'll _stay."_

_"Michael-"_

"Maria? Maria, hey, what's going on?"

Maria gasped. "I gotta go, Alex!" She told him hurriedly as she looked frantically for her keys.

"What? Where-"

"Just, wait for me here, alright? I won't take long."

"Maria-"

She didn't hear what he said after that, because she was already out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! Thanks to everyone who has read it and gave kudos and comments ❤ I appreciate you all so much 😍 
> 
> Happy Reading!!

VI.

This was crazy, and Maria was fully aware of it, but- she had to act now. Mainly because she was sick of the constant guilt and anxiety that came along with knowing Michael was going to leave the planet and not doing the one thing that needed to be done to get him to stay.

Maria drove as fast as she could, desperately hoping that she wasn't too late. When she got to the junkyard, it was quiet, and thankfully, she didn't have to look around long to find Michael. He was sitting, slumped low, in a lawn chair, hands in his jacket pockets and staring at the fire like it had all the answers in the universe.

He looked miserable.

She hurried over to him, and with a quick hello, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to her truck. The chair he was on toppled to the ground, he stumbled, and both of them nearly took a nose dive, but they made it relatively unscathed. 

"Maria, what the hell is going on?" He demanded as she all but dumped him in the passanger seat. 

"We're breaking up," she informed him. 

Michael let out a bark of laughter and when she spared him a glance, he abruptly stopped laughing. "Why?" He inquired, confused. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No." Maria softened and only then did she realize how ridiculous she'd been, taking him like that without any explanation, and basically planning an ambush for both him and Alex. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. I did."

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't love me, Michael." She shook her head when he tried to protest. "You're not _in love_ with me, I mean, and you probably never will be. Hell, I don't think you're capable of being in love with _anyone_ that isn't Alex."

He slumped down in the seat and looked out of the window, not saying a word. Maria blew out a breath and tightened her hands on the steering wheel. "For the past two months, I've been having visions. About you leaving."

She parked in the lot of the Wild Pony and looked at him then down at her hands. "I've been so selfish with you, because I thought we can be good for each other."

"We can," he told her weakly.

She smiled sadly. "In another world, maybe. But not this one."

"Why not?"

"Because he's always gonna be there, and you'll always put him first. I don't- I don't want that for myself."

He was quiet for a minute, and she let him take his time. "Wait, two months?" He asked suddenly, and at her nod, he continued. "So why tell me now?"

"Because I realized I was never going to be enough."

"Maria-"

"You love him, Michael. You love him so much that you decided to leave the planet when you lost hope of ever being with him."

Michael let out a wounded sound. "Lost hope? What happens? He- he'll be alright, right?"

She hesitated for only a few seconds. "He marries Forrest. And you leave on their wedding night." 

He sucked in a sharp breath, and she could see a world of hurt in his eyes, his expression, _hell_ , even in the set of his shoulders. 

"Michael, you can still fix it."

He shook his head. "Maybe it's better-"

She turned so that she was sitting sideways on the seat. "No," she said firmly. "I've been so stupid when it comes to you, I've been doing things all wrong, because I thought I could fall for you, and that you could fall in love with me. With time. I didn't want to lose you, because you were there for me when I felt like I had no one. But, Michael?"

He sniffled and looked at her. She smiled softly at the red-rimmed eyes and miserable expression. "You deserve your epic love story," her voice cracked and she was dismayed when she felt tears on her cheeks, "you deserve to be happy. You deserve the best- and so does he."

"He doesn't want me."

She glared at him, though she doubted it was effective considering the tears in her eyes. "You know that's not true."

Michael shook his head. "And if he doesn't?"

She rolled her eyes. "You do know I'm a psychic, right?"

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

"He's inside." She nudged him. "Go talk to him."

Michael's eyes softened and he smiled at her. "Thanks, Deluca."

He leaned in and kissed her cheek, and she wrapped her arms around him. There was so much relief and hope radiating off him that she had to smile. 

"Oh, shit," Michael cursed, scrambling out of her hold. 

"What?"

"Alex is leaving!" 

She turned around quickly in her seat, and saw that Alex was indeed leaving, and by the way his shoulders seemed to reach his ears, he was pretty pissed off. With a quick touch to her hand, Michael quickly made his way out of her tuck.

She closed her eyes with a smile, and when she opened her eyes and looked around, she wasn't in her truck and Michael wasn't anywhere to be seen. 

_Maria was crying. She was wearing a pretty, silver dress, her hair was styled beautifully, and she was crying softly._

_Liz, wearing a beautiful, emerald dress, wasn't faring much better and when they looked at each other, they burst out laughing. "God, we're a mess," Liz giggled, wiping away the tears that were running down her face._

_"Yeah," Maria agreed, doing the same. She looked to the side and her smile widened as she watched the two men dancing with their arms around each other and their foreheads delicately touching. They looked happy. Completely and utterly happy._

_Slowly, they pulled apart, only to come back together in a soft, lingering kiss. The song ended, and they still swayed in place for a few seconds after, as if they weren't really paying attention to anything around them._

_Liz leaned her head on Maria's shoulder, and Maria smiled wider, leaning into her best friend._

_"I'm so glad they finally got their shit together," Liz said with a fond smile._

_"Yeah," Maria agreed. "Me too."_

_Someone tapped her shoulder, and she turned around and came face to face with the happy couple._

_She flung her arms around Alex and saw Liz do the same to Michael. "I'm so happy for you," she whispered in his ear, voice thick._

_His arms wrapped around her tightly. "Thank you." He pulled back but kept her at arm's length. "Seriously, thank you. I don't know if we could have gotten here without you."_

_She sniffled. "I'm just glad things worked out."_

_He looked to the side, where Michael and Liz were bickering quietly and smiled brilliantly. "Me, too." He exhaled and shook his head. "I still can't believe he's mine, you know? Two years, and some days, I still wake up, terrified, that this all had been a dream."_

_As if sensing their eyes on him, Michael looked at them and then smiled. He crossed the distance between them and Alex met him halfway. Michael raised his hand in a silent greeting to Maria, and when she smiled and did the same, he turned his attention back to Alex and wrapped his arms around him. Michael placed a sweet kiss on his head and laughed softly when Alex seemed to burrow closer into his embrace._

_"You okay?" He asked quietly._

_Alex smiled. He looked young, and in love and incredibly happy. "I love you," he told him sweetly, his hands on either side of Michael's neck._

_Michael leaned in close, pressed one, two and then a third kiss on Alex's lips. "I love you, too."_

_The last image she saw of Michael and Alex was this: Alex with his arms around Michael's neck, smile soft and happy. Michael's smile, in contrast, was wide and filled with so much joy and excitement. He pulled Alex in by the waist and tucked his face in his neck._

Maria wiped away the tears in her eyes, and when she looked around, she was back in her truck. She sniffled and let her head fall back onto the headrest, relief washing over her. It was done. This whole thing was done, and they were all going to be okay.

Her eyes flew open when she remembered Michael and Alex were supposed to be in the parking lot with her.

She only had to look for a few seconds before she spotted them. Maria smiled when she found them in the same position as in her vision. She couldn't see their expressions clearly, but by how tightly they were holding each other, Maria thought it was safe to say things were finally back on track for them. 

She got in from the back entrance, made her way upstairs to freshen up, then idled around for a few minutes before she made her way downstairs to open. When she got behind the bar, she saw a small, yellow piece of paper waiting for her. 

_Thank you. You were right_ , the note said in Michael's messy scrawl. 

Maria smiled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to say that in that last scene, Michael and Alex are hugging. There was no kissing whatsoever, because I despise cheating (physical cheating, that is) 
> 
> I hope this was a satisfactory ending, and if not, I sincerely apologize. Again, thank you for reading ❤

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think. Also, if you have any prompts for me, send them my way (ravens-world on tumblr)


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